The Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree regulating the management of used industrial oils. The main objective of the royal decree is to establish measures to prevent the environmental impact of industrial oils, as well as to reduce the generation of used oils after use or at least to facilitate their recovery, preferably through regeneration or other forms of recycling.

The use of industrial oils or lubricants in equipment that is so closely linked to our daily lives such as industrial machinery, automotive vehicles or hydraulic transmission systems, to name a few of the most significant examples, unfortunately leads to the generation of used oils and therefore makes it necessary to establish measures to reduce the production of this hazardous waste as much as possible and to encourage the management of those that are generated through alternatives that guarantee a greater degree of protection of the environment and people’s health.

In accordance with this principle, manufacturers must also assume obligations for the correct management of the waste generated after the use or consumption of the products they put on the market and, precisely for this reason, Law 10/1998, of 21 April, on Waste, empowers the Government to establish measures by regulation by means of which, among other aspects, the aforementioned economic operators are obliged to manufacture their products in a certain way or to participate in systems that facilitate the selective collection of waste.